Justices shun Chicago gun suit

Court rebuffs city bid for ATF data

February 27, 2003|By Jan Crawford Greenburg, Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court stepped out of a battle between Chicago and the federal government over the release of gun records Wednesday, announcing it would not hear arguments on the city's attempts to get the data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The court was scheduled to hear arguments next week on whether Chicago was entitled to records on the sale or transfer of firearms used in crimes. The city is seeking the data to bolster its civil lawsuit against the firearms industry, but the ATF refused to turn it over.

The court changed course because congressional Republicans recently inserted a provision into a spending bill that prevents the ATF from spending money to provide the information. The justices sent the matter back to a lower court, directing it to decide how the new legislation affects the case.

Jenny Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city's law department, said the provision would not affect Chicago's efforts to get the information because the city is willing to pay "reasonable fees" for the data..

Matthew Nosanchuk, litigation director at the Violence Policy Center, a gun control group, said the provision means the "public will now have to wait longer" to get the information. He said the information obviously is important to Chicago's case but also is of great interest on a national level because, among other things, it would show how the ATF is enforcing gun laws.

The Justice Department and others, including the National Rifle Association, have opposed releasing the information, saying the government must maintain confidential records to protect gun owners' privacy.

In its underlying lawsuit against the gun industry, Chicago maintains that certain manufacturers, dealers and distributors have created a public nuisance by marketing handguns to residents of the city, where most firearms are illegal. The city is seeking to recover the costs of police, medical and other services it incurs because of illegal guns in the city.

To get information about how guns are distributed, the city wanted records the ATF compiles on the movement of guns used in criminal activity, as well as information on gun sales. When the ATF refused to disclose significant information, including names and addresses, the city sued under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

A Chicago-based federal appeals court ruled earlier this year that the bureau could not withhold the requested information, saying nothing in the Freedom of Information Act warranted the ATF's refusal to release the records.

The Justice Department, urging the Supreme Court to reverse that decision, had argued in court papers that disclosing the sales information would interfere with law-enforcement proceedings. It said releasing the names and addresses also would "significantly intrude upon the privacy of hundreds of thousands of individuals," including gun buyers and potential witnesses to crime.